Cherry Flavour Pez
by sturmfrei
Summary: Oneshot. The story behind Vern Tessio's love for Cherry Flavour Pez.


**Notes: This one-shot has been loitering around for a while, I have no words for where the idea came from. I was originally going to try and write it Americanized (so _flavor_ instead of _flavour_) but it'd affect other words and I'd get paranoid if I got them all. So British it is! **

**Disclaimer: No characters belong to me, street and store names are mostly taken from Stephen King works set in Castle Rock.**

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**CHERRY FLAVOUR PEZ**

Vern Tessio was in a good mood one swelteringly hot Friday afternoon in August to say his daily ritual of digging for his lost pennies that morning under the porch had proved fruitless. The reason young Vern was in such a good mood? Well, his mother had _only_ sent him on an errand to the general store _and_ said those rare magic words "get yourself something too."

His eager fingers had grabbed the money and small grocery list out of his mother's outstretched hand before you could say _two for flinching_ and he was out of the house and off down the street in seconds. He'd had to come back for his shoes, of course, which he'd only realized weren't on his feet when he reached the intersection of Ford and Pond Street.

The boy had a noticeable spring in his step as he soaked in the summer sun and thought about what he would buy for himself. The answer was obvious, but he liked to toy with the idea that he _might_ be tempted by something else. There wasn't much of a selection when it came to candy in Castle Rock, it was a small town after all, with small stores and even smaller variety. But a new stock had been brought in at the beginning of the summer, a brightly coloured stand at the end of an aisle stacked with Vern's latest love. He hadn't bothered to even walk down the confectionery aisle since, the kaleidoscope of wrappers had lost their appeal, they weren't good enough. _Not for Vern Tessio_.

Having survived nine months without his pennies had meant his trips to the general store – or any store – were few and far between. His allowance, like his lunch money, was either spent in a flurry or taken by his older brother Billy. _But not today_, thought Vern, _not today_. Not even the elusiveness of his pennies would dampen his spirit, not when he had a whole _$4_ in his denim pocket.

His hand stuffed inside, he let his fingers run over the coins protectively as he glanced across the road towards Main Street. Previous errand-running had taught Vern Tessio two things: his brother and his friends would _know_ he had money if he was on Main Street and they _would_ take it. Too many times had his own brother taken money that their mother had entrusted to him, leaving an empty-handed Vern to go home and lie to his mother about having lost it. It surprised him to no end that Mrs Tessio kept entrusting her youngest son with her money, but she did, nonetheless, with repeated warnings.

Vern was understandably cautious when he finally crossed the road and took his first steps onto the sidewalk of Main Street. Keeping his eyes peeled for a souped up car, a collective of Vitalis-covered heads, a cloud of cigarette smoke – anything to signal that _The Cobras_ were on Main Street. Stepping out of his hiding spot in the shade next to Castle Rock Hardware, Vern had decided that downtown was free of his brother and any of his pals, and resumed his walk to the unimaginatively titled Castle Rock General Store.

Ignoring the feel of the crumpled shopping list he had gripped in his pocket, Vern navigated his way through the few aisles to the back of the store. To the stand. His eyes widened in horror as he looked on, _they're all gone! _He was about to go to the cash register at the front of the store and ask Mr Lyle if there was any more, when his eye caught the tell tale shine of the candy-red wrapper. There it was, the last one. He stared at it for a moment, a look of wonder on his face as he cautiously reached over to grab it. As soon as his fingers brushed over the paper, another hand came down upon his own. A soft hand. A girl's hand.

Vern kept his hand planted, not surrendering the candy, and looked up with disbelief as he saw who the hand belonged to. He instantly recognized her, the thick black her held back with baby-pink barrettes, the large hazel eyes lined with long lashes, the naturally rosy cheeks. She recognized him too, of course, she was dating his brother after all. It was Connie Palermo. Vern felt his mouth go dry. _Connie fucking Palermo_. She was staring at him with barely concealed annoyance, and made no attempt to remove her hand from his. He could feel her pulse. Vern stood defiantly and licked his lips, "I saw it first." He was sure she'd be able to feel his hand sweating. Billy was going to hide him for sure.

Vern had only been this close to her once before, when she stormed out of his house the previous week. He was, as usual, digging under the porch for his pennies when Billy walked up the driveway with her. Their parents had gone shopping over in Haven and would be gone all afternoon. And it was only natural, when Connie Palermo walked up the steps of the porch, that Vern would halt in his search for his pennies and try and look up her skirt (he'd bragged about it in the tree-house the next morning, recalling that he'd seen a glimpse of white cotton panties between her thighs when she stepped across the wooden boards). Vern had dug several new holes when he heard muffled yelling coming from inside the house, the sound of feet heavily running down stairs and across floorboards until the screen door smacked open with a _BANG_.

"If you _ever_ take that _thing_ out again, William Tessio, I'll rip it off!"

Connie Palermo had been a flurry of skirts as she marched away down the street, and Billy hadn't bothered to chase after her beyond the porch. "At least you'd be fuckin' touchin' it." He'd muttered it to himself, unaware that his brother was below him. Vern had remained perfectly still, thinking of the beating he'd get if his brother knew he was there and waited for Billy to go back into the house before resuming his little excavation.

Normally he only ever saw her from a distance, wearing those longs summer dresses that twirled and billowed as she walked. She was wearing one now, with pink ribbon on the hem and frilly little ankle socks under her flat patent shoes. He thought about the white cotton panties he'd seen. He saw the small gold crucifix resting on her collarbone and thought God was judging him.

Connie Palermo's patience was wearing thin, "Go get apple or grape."

His response left his mouth before he thought it through, "They taste like shit." He instantly paled. He just cussed in front of a girl. She might tell on him and then a hiding from Billy would be the least of his worries. But she hadn't hit him or ran off to tell Mr Lyle what he'd done, and looked only slightly phased by his use of language, Vern retried his reasoning. "Cherry's the best."

Rolling her eyes, Connie Palermo looked as if Vern had just said the stupidest thing she had ever heard, "That's why I want it." Her hold on his hand tightened, her short manicured nails pressing into his skin ever so slightly. Vern just tightened his fist around the small packet even more. She sighed, probably having better things to do, better places to be, better people to be with. Placing her free hand on her hip, Connie Palermo made Vern Tessio an offer, "Listen, how about you let me take the Pez?" She smiled, her peachy-pink lips curving, "I'll make it worth your while."

Vern didn't quite know what that meant, but shook his head dismissively, _no way! _If he had said those words out loud, he would be eating them when he heard what Connie Palermo followed up with.

Her voice was low, a tempting whisper, "Have you ever been kissed before, Vern Tessio?"

"Y-Yeah." He stammered out without thinking, feeling the heat creep up to the tips of his ears. "Lot'sa times."

Connie Palermo snorted, "Your mom doesn't count."

At a loss for words, Vern tried to look anywhere but at the chest in front of him. The crucifix glared at him, but was unable to halt any wild fantasies that may have taken root in his young mind. His attention unfocused, Connie Palermo easily lifted his sweaty palm off the Pez and held it up triumphantly. "Now, you go wait out back whilst I buy these, okay, Vern? I'll be with you in a couple of minutes."

Vern nodded eagerly, and quickly made his way to the front of the store. He took a left turn outside, and after a few steps, took another left down the alley between the buildings. Though the path was narrow, it was empty and easy to move down. At the end it opened up into the wider alley that ran along the length of Main Street, mostly used for employee parking and deliveries. Vern looked around excitedly, flattening out the creases on his t-shirt as he went. There were large trash cans, crates and some flattened cardboard boxes, but otherwise, it was deserted. This could only have been what Connie Palermo had meant by 'out back' - he'd heard older kids talking about it to go smoke before, and there were cigarette butts littering the edges of the walls. He was going to be alone with Connie Palermo, in the 'out back' alley! _Wait till the guys hear about this! _

There was a brief moment, when a small voice at the back of Vern's mind questioned: Why would she actually turn up? His excitement shrivelled. Of course! He could almost kick himself, he should have held onto the Pez! She'd tricked him! He was wondering how he could demand what he felt to be rightfully his when he saw her daintily stepping into the alley.

Connie Palermo brushed out her skirt, checking for dirt, and spoke in an authoritative tone, "Now, we're going to set some ground rules, okay, Vern?" She barely waited for him to nod before she continued, "Rule Number One: You don't tell anyone about this – you breathe a word to anyone and I'll tell William you tried to feel me up."

Vern nodded again, rubbing his sweaty palms on his jeans as she stepped closer. "Yeah, no problem"

Feeling around in her small white purse, she brought out a pocket mirror and a tissue. Dampening the tissue with her tongue, she skilfully removed her lipstick – this pleased Vern, he didn't like how he'd gotten lipstick smudges from aunties, he'd always had to scrub his cheeks raw to get it off. "Rule Number Two: You try to put your tongue in my mouth - I'll kick you so hard in the groin your balls'll crawl into your stomach _and_ tell William you tried to feel me up."

Paling, Vern's nod was noticeably less enthusiastic than before.

"Rule Number Three: You keep your hands to yourself, if you don't –" She snapped the mirror shut, "Well, you get the picture." Placing the items back into her purse, she then brought out the Pez and began to tear the wrapper. "Are we clear?"

Vern gulped, and murmured a barely audible, "Yes, ma'am," as he watched Connie Palermo place a piece of Pez candy on her tongue.

Cocking her head to the side and looking slightly bemused, she asked "You gonna' keep your eyes open?"

He didn't say anything, he knew if he closed his eyes she might not go through with it at all. He'd heard that some girls just pressed their wrists to a guys mouth if he had his eyes closed. Vern Tessio was too smart for that. He kept his eyes fixed on hers and pursed his lips.

Connie Palermo laughed, a light and airy sound, and looked around at their surroundings for one last time. "Let's get this over with."

Vern froze as soon as she lowered her head to his, and had to fight the urge to close his eyes. It felt like fireworks going off in his head and his pants when he felt the wetness of her lips against his, the sweep of her tongue. Instinctively, he opened his mouth at the pressure, but remembering her warning, kept his tongue flat at the base of his mouth. He immediately tasted it. His favourite taste. Cherry Flavour Pez.

He wondered if this was how she kissed Billy. Then hated himself for thinking of that _shitheap_ at a time like this. Vern focused on the soft feel of her mouth and looked at the thick mascara on her closed lashes, the brush strokes of her make-up, the fine hair on her face, her pores! Everything he'd want to remember. All the things he'd tell the guys about and all the things he'd keep to himself. Vern must have looked a sight, because when Connie Palermo eventually pulled away, she laughed at his expression in her light-hearted way. Vern realized he'd had his fists clenched at his sides, and looked about shyly as Connie Palermo quickly went about reapplying her lipstick. She smiled at him when she snapped the mirror shut, "See you later, Cherry-Boy." And spun on her heel, her skirts fluttering around her as she left the alley and Vern.

There was only one thought in Vern Tessio's mind at that moment, and it stayed with him as he breezily made his way back home, it stayed with him as his mother asked him how he'd managed to go to the store and forget to buy groceries and it stayed with him for a long time after.

_That was boss._

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**This one-shot was brought to you by I'M NOT QUALIFIED TO WRITE THIS, I HAVEN'T EATEN PEZ IN YEARS.**


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